Catalyst pump

ABSTRACT

A pump for pumping catalyst and the like is disclosed. The pump has a variable stroke piston. Variation in the stroke of the piston is accomplished by incrementally adjusting the attachment of the piston rod at various locations substantially along the entire length of a pumping arm. the pump piston is hollow with an outlet at the uppermost portion thereof and with means for directing flow from the inlet to the outlet thereof.

United States Patent Larry C. Stephans Crystal Lake, lll.

May 15, 1970 Oct. 12, 1971 The Quaker Oats Company Chicago, Ill.

lnventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee CATALYST PUMP 1 Claim, 3Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 417/554,

92/135, 417/426 Int. Cl F04b 13/00 Field of Search 417/426,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,499,387 3/1970 Zippel92/135 x 3,430,576 3/1969 Tyree, Jr. 417/554 x 2,925,780 2/1960 Tear417/399 Primary Examiner-Carlton R. Croyle Assistant Examiner-Richard J.Sher Attorneys-Milton C. Hansen and Donnie Rudd ABSTRACT: A pump forpumping catalyst and the like is disclosed. The pump has a variablestroke piston. Variation in the stroke of the piston is accomplished byincrementally adjusting the attachment of the piston rod at variouslocations substantially along the entire length of a pumping arm. thepump piston is hollow with an outlet at the uppermost portion thereofand with means for directing flow from the inlet to the outlet thereof.

PATENTEDHBI 12 I97! 3.612.732

INVENTOR. LARRY C. STEPHA/VS Afforney CATALYST PUMP BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a variablestroke catalyst pump having a hollow piston as the pumping mechanism.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many attempts have been made to providea pump for use with the catalysts which will supply catalyst outputs ina wide range of pumping rates. Generally, this has been accomplished byeither changing the diameter of the piston or else altering the strokefrequency. This invention may utilize a change in stroke frequency butchanges pumping rate primarily by altering the piston stroke.

- SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to providea catalyst pump which can easily be adjusted to give a wide range ofpumping outputs.

The objects of this invention are accomplished by a pump for pumpingcatalyst and the like, said pump comprising: a horizontal baseplatehaving a hinge end, a middle portion and a reciprocating end, saidmiddle portion of said base plate having means for attaching a pumphousing at various locations thereon; a horizontal pumping arm having ahinge end, a middle portion and a reciprocating end, said middle portionof said pumping arm having means for incrementally moving substantiallythe entire length thereon and attaching thereto a piston rod; a verticalconnecting plate having an upper end and a lower end; said lower endbeing movably connected to said hinge end of said horizontal baseplateand said upper end being movably connected to said hinge end of saidhorizontal pumping arm; means for moving the reciprocating end of thepumping arm and the reciprocating end of the baseplate alternatelytoward and away from each other; a pump housing having an inner portionand an outer portion, said pump housing being movably attached to saidmeans for attaching a pump housing to various locations on saidbaseplate, said pump housing having an inner cylindrical cavityextending from the inner portion of the pump housing to the outer upperportion thereof; an intake passage extending from the outer portion ofthe pump housing to the bottom of the inner cylindrical cavity; adischarge passage extending from the outer portion of the pump housingto the upper portion of the inner cylindrical cavity; a hollow pistonhaving a cavity extending from its lower outer side substantially intoupper portion of the piston, said piston having substantially the samecross-sectional shape as the cross-sectional shape of the innercylindrical cavity of the housing, said piston having a piston rodextending therefrom and said piston being movably located in saidcylindrical cavity, and said piston rod being movably attached to saidmeans for incrementally moving thereon and attaching thereto a pistonrod; a piston discharge port extending from the upper portion of thepiston cavity to the outside of the piston at a point adjacent to thedischarge passage of the pump housing; means for permitting fluid flowonly into said intake passage; means for permitting fluid flow in saidhollow piston only in a direction from the intake passage to thedischarge passage; means for permitting fluid flow only out of saiddischarge passage; and a surge tank, said surge tank being hydraulicallyconnected to the discharge passage of the pump housing.

The objects of this invention are further accomplished by a design suchis shown in the accompanying drawings and made reference to herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS This invention may be more fullydescribed but is not limited by the attached drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the pump of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a view along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1illustrating the details of the pump mechanism.

In the drawings l have found the numeral 10 to refer to the baseplate.The middle portion of the baseplate 10 has means for attaching a pumphousing at various locations therein illustrated by the groove 11 andthe plurality of holes 12. A vertical connecting plate 13 is shown beingmovably attached by a pin 14 to the baseplate. The upper portion of thevertical connecting plate is movably attached by a pin 15 to a pumpingarm 16. The pumping arm has means for incrementally moving substantiallythe entire length thereon and attaching thereto a piston rod illustratedby grooves 17 and 18 in which a locking plate 19 slides. The lockingplate 19 passes through both grooves and is threaded in the form ofa'bolt 20 on the side opposite the adjustment side. A wingnut 21 is usedto tighten and secure the adjustment when the proper pumping rate isachieved. The grooves 17 and 18 are substantially the entire length ofthe-pumping arm 16. The locking plate 19 is adjusted in the grooves byloosening the wingnut and turning knob 22 which turns screw 23. As thescrew 23 turns in the threaded pumping arm extension 24, it forces thelocking plate 19 along the grooves. The locking plate is movablyattached to screw 23 at the point 25 by having the rod pass through alarger diameter hole and not by having the locknuts 26 and 27 completelytightened on the locking plate. The piston rod 28 is movably connectedto the locking plate by a connection piece 29 which has a hole thereinand fits around the cylindrical portion of the connecting plate.

Any conventional method may be used for moving the pumping arm towardand away from the baseplate thereby moving the piston up and down in thepiston cylinder cavity. For purposes of illustration, I have shown thismechanism to be a cam 31 which rotates about cam shaft 32 by pushing therod 33 down. The rod is then forced upward by the spring 34. The rod isin turn connected to the pumping ann pin 35.

The pump is best illustrated by its cross-sectional view in FIG. 3. Thepump has a pump housing 36 which is attached by pin 37 in holes 12. Thepump housing has an intake fitting 3,8 which is hydraulically connectedto the intake passage 39. The intake passage 39 is hydraulicallyconnected to the bottom inner cylinder cavity 40. The hollow piston 41moves in the inner cylinder cavity and is provided with seals in thefonn of O-rings 42 and 43. A discharge passage 44 is connected to theupper part of the inner cylindrical cavity and has a fitting 45 attachedthereto. This fitting is in turn connected to a surge tank 46. Thepiston has a hollow portion 47 which extends from the bottom thereofsubstantially upward into the upper portion of the piston. The upperportion of the piston has discharge port 48 which is merely an openingin the piston wall. This discharge port 48 corresponds to the dischargepassage 44 in the pump housing. Flow is directed through the pump in onedirection by check valves illustrated here by springs 49, 50, and 51 andballs 52, 53, and 54.

In operation, the pump housing is adjusted to the desired holes 12. Thewingnut 21 is then loosened and knob 22 is turned to move the piston rodto adjust to the proper stroke and thereby effect the proper pumpingrate. The wingnut 21 is then tightened to insure that the rate remainssteady. As cam 31 turns, it forces the pumping arm 16 up and down withrelation to the stationary base plate 10. This movement causes thepiston rod 28 to move up and down and consequently the piston 41 to moveup and down in the cylinder cavity. When the cylinder is down, all ofthe check valves are closed. As the piston moves up, the ball 52 opensallowing the cylinder cavity to fill with catalyst. As the piston movesdown, ball 52 closesthe cylinder cavity and ball 53 opens filling thepiston with catalyst. After repeated strokes downward movement of thepiston forces catalyst out of the discharge port 48 and into thedischarge passage 44. Ball valve 54 then opens allowing catalyst to moveinto the surge tank. As the catalyst fills the surge tank, it exits in asubstantially uniform constant rate of flow.

This pump provides a new method for providing a wide range of pumpingrates by simple adjustment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The accompanying drawings alongwith the description thereof may be taken to be a preferred embodimentof this invention.

Having fully described this new and unique invention, claim:

1. A pump for pumping catalyst and the like, said pump comprising: ahorizontal baseplate having a hinge end, a middle portion and areciprocating end, said middle portion of said baseplate having meansfor attaching a pump housing at various locations thereon; a horizontalpumping arm having a hinge end, a middle portion and a reciprocatingend, said middle portion of said pumping arm having means forincrementally moving substantially the entire length thereon andattaching thereto a piston rod; a vertical connecting plate having anupper end and a lower end; said lower end being movably connected tosaid hinge end of said horizontal baseplate and said upper end beingmovably connected to said hinge end of said horizontal pumping arm;means for moving the reciprocating end of the pumping arm and thereciprocating end of the baseplate alternately toward and away from eachother; a pump housing having an inner portion and an outer portion, saidpump housing being movably attached to said means for attaching a pumphousing to various locations on the baseplate, said pump housing havingan inner cylindrical cavity extending from the inner portion of the pumphousing to the outer upper portion thereof; an intake passage extendingfrom the outer portion of the pump housing to the bottom of the innercylindrical cavity; a discharge passage extending from the outer portionof the pump housing to the upper portion of the inner cylindricalcavity; a hollow piston having a cavity extending from its lower outerside substantially into the upper portion of the piston, said pistonhaving substantially the same cross-sectional shape as thecross-sectional shape of the inner cylindrical cavity of the housing,said piston having a piston rod extending therefrom and said pistonbeing movably located in said cylindrical cavity, and said piston rodbeing movably attached to said means for incrementally moving thereonand attaching thereto a piston rod; a piston discharge port extendingfrom the upper portion of the piston cavity to the outside of the pistonat a point adjacent to the discharge passage of the pump housing; meansfor permitting fluid flow only into said intake passage; mans forpermitting fluid flow in said hollow piston only in a direction from theintake passage to the discharge passage; means for permitting fluid flowonly out of said discharge passage; and a surge tank, said surge tankbeing hydraulically connected to the discharge passage of the pumphousing.

1. A pump for pumping catalyst and the like, said pump comprising: ahorizontal baseplate having a hinge end, a middle portion and areciprocating end, said middle portion of said baseplate having meansfor attaching a pump housing at various locations thereon; a horizontalpumping arm having a hinge end, a middle portion and a reciprocatingend, said middle portion of said pumping arm having means forincrementally moving substantially the entire length thereon andattaching thereto a piston rod; a vertical connecting plate having anupper end and a lower end; said lower end being movably connected tosaid hinge end of said horizontal baseplate and said upper end beingmovably connected to said hinge end of said horizontal pumping arm;means for moving the reciprocating end of the pumping arm and thereciprocating end of the baseplate alternately toward and away from eachother; a pump housing having an inner portion and an outer portion, saidpump housing being movably attached to said means for attaching a pumphousing to various locations on the baseplate, said pump housing havingan inner cylindrical cavity extending from the inner portion of the pumphousing to the outer upper portion thereof; an intake passage extendingfrom the outer portion of the pump housing to the bottom of the innercylindrical cavity; a discharge passage extending from the outer portionof the pump housing to the upper portion of the inner cylindricalcavity; a hollow piston having a cavity extending from its lower outerside substantially into the upper portion of the piston, said pistonhaving substantially the same crosssectional shape as thecross-sectional shape of the inner cylindrical cavity of the housing,said piston having a piston rod extending therefrom and said pistonbeing movably located in said cylindrical cavity, and said piston rodbeing movably attached to said means for incrementally moving thereonand attaching thereto a piston rod; a piston discharge port extendingfrom the upper portion of the piston cavity to the outside of the pistonat a point adjacent to the discharge passage of the pump housing; meansfor permitting fluid flow only into said intake passage; mans forpermitting fluid flow in said hollow piston only in a direction from theintake passage to the discharge passage; means for permitting fluid flowonly out of said discharge passage; and a surge tank, said surge tankbeing hydraulically connected to the discharge passage of the pumphousing.